Quick Facts and Takeaways: Get to Know the Washington Huskies

The Louisville football program is heading to the Sun Bowl for a matchup with Washington.

Nov 9, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Will Rogers (7) throws a pass against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -  The Louisville football program is heading to the Lone Star State this bowl season.

The Cardinals finally learned their postseason draw on Sunday, and they will squaring off with Washington in the 2023 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. Kickoff from Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 2:00 p.m. EST.

This will be the first ever meeting between Louisville and Washington, though the Cardinals do have some experience vs. legacy members of the Pac-12 with 10 prior matchups. They're 2-1 vs. Arizona State, 1-1 vs. Oregon State, 0-1 vs. USC and 0-4 vs. Utah.

In year two under head coach Jeff Brohm, Louisville is heading to their fourth straight bowl, as well as their 12th bowl appearance over the last 14 seasons. The Cardinals sport an 12-13-1 all-time bowl record, most recently dropping the 2023 Holiday Bowl, 42-28, to USC.

Quick Facts on Washington

- Record: 6-6 overall, 4-5 Big Ten
- Points Per Game: 22.5
- Points Allowed Per Game: 22.8
- Total Offense: 383.7
- Total Defense: 324.8
- Passing Yards Per Game: 252.3
- Passing Yards Allowed Per Game: 166.8
- Rushing Yards Per Game: 131.3
- Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 158.1
- Third-Down Rate: 36.4%
- Opponents' Third-Down Rate: 43.9%
- Turnovers Gained: 14 (eight interceptions, six fumble recoveries)
- Turnovers Lost: 11 (seven interceptions, four fumbles lost)
- Average Time of Possession: 30:10
- Sacks Per Game: 1.67
- Tackles for Loss Per Game: 3.6
- Sacks Per Game Allowed: 2.83
- Tackles for Loss Per Game Allowed: 5.83

Quick Takeaways on Washington

Last season, Washington was just one game away from being on top of the college football world. They won their first 14 games of the season, including the Pac-12 Championship over Oregon and the Sugar Bowl against Texas as part of the College Football Playoff. However, they fell just short of the ultimate goal, losing to Michigan in the national championship game.

The 2024 iteration of Washington is a little bit different. After head coach Kalen DeBoer left to take the Alabama job following Nick Saban's retirement, the Huskies hired Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch to take over. Because of the coaching change, UW lost a lot of last year's talent. QB Michael Penix Jr. and WR Rome Odunze were among the 10 Huskies to declare for the NFL Draft, whereas others such as CB Jabbar Muhammad opted to transfer.

Fisch was able to assemble a competitive roster in his first year at the helm, but they had one clear weakness: going on the road. Washington went a perfect 6-0 at Husky Stadium this season, but went 0-6 in road and neutral site matchups.

One reason why UW couldn't find more sustained success was because of their efforts on the offensive side of the ball. One year removed from having of the most prolific offenses in all of college football, the Huskies are barely an average offense, with their total and scoring offense ranked 68th and 109th in the FBS, respectively.

This comes in spite of a solid bounce back campaign from quarterback Will Rogers. While he holds the SEC record for career pass completions during his four years at Mississippi State, and is the Bulldog's all-time passing leader, Rogers had a down final year with the program. This was partially a result of former head coach Mike Leach's passing just after the end of the 2022 season.

During his lone year in Seattle and final year in college, Rogers completed 70.7 percent of his passes for 2,458 yards and 14 touchdowns to help the Huskies post the No. 39 passing offense. Although, that did come with seven interceptions, and he posted -79 rushing yards on the season.

Over the course of the season, it became very clear who Rogers' two favorite targets were: wide receivers Denzel Boston and Giles Jackson. Boston's 807 receiving yards and nine touchdowns both led the team, while his 60 receptions came in second. Jackson was the top-pass catcher on the Huskies with 74 catches, also logging 732 yards and three scores in the process. Wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter and tight end Keleki Latu provide a good supporting cast as well.

Washington's ground game certainly lags behind their passing game, having just the No. 94 rushing offense in the nation, but they do have a deadly weapon in the backfield in running back Jonah Coleman. The Arizona transfer was able to break the 1,000-yard mark on the season, rushing for 1,011 yards (fifth in Big Ten) and 10 touchdowns (seventh in Big Ten) on 184 carries (eighth in Big Ten).

So why wasn't Washington's offense more successful? Well, they were severely handicapped by their offensive line. Their 5.83 tackles for loss allowed per game ranked 85th in the FBS, while their 2.83 sacks allowed per game was 109th. According to Pro Football Focus, their team run blocking grade of 56.1 is 106th nationally, while their 48.4 team pass block grade is just 129th. For reference, there are 134 teams operating at the FBS level.

Counting their much-to-be-desired efforts on offense, Washington is much more efficient over on the defensive side of the ball. The Huskies finished the regular season with the No. 27 total defense, the No. 47 scoring defense, and their 90.2 team tackle grade on PFF was the best in the nation.

The heart and soul of UW's defense is linebacker Carson Bruener, who captured Second-Team All-Big Ten honors this season. He finished with a team-best 93 tackles (seventh in Big Ten), snagged three interceptions, logged five pass breakups and a forced fumble. Fellow linebacker Alphonzo Tuputa also earned All-Big Ten honorable mentions after logging 76 tackles and a team-best 3.5 sacks.

While the Huskies' have a great linebacking corps, their best work on defense comes in the secondary. Their 166.8 passing yards allowed per game ranks fifth in the nation and second in the Big Ten behind Ohio State.

Cornerback Thaddeus Dixon and safety Kamren Fabriculanan are the cornerstones of the secondary for UW. Dixon logged 40 tackles, 10 pass break ups, an interception and a forced fumble; while Fabriculanan finished with 53 tackles, a pair of picks and two pass breakups.

Something that Washington has been susceptible to this season is the run. Their rushing defense ranks only 84th nationally, they gave up 180 or more rushing yards in a game five times (all on the road), and surrendered 220 or more rushing yards three times.

(Photo via Matthew O'Haren - Imagn Images)

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